The best podcasts of 2016 and beyond

Everyone’s doing a podcast these days, and everyone’s always looking for new recommendations. I’ve listened to podcasts almost exclusively during my 1,000 miles of running this year, as well as during my 20-some-minute commute most weekdays and some weekends. Here are my favorites:

Intelligence Squared US Debates If there is one thing to be learned from political discourse over the past 18 monthsfour yearspresidential administration decade and a half, it’s that it is often not based in facts or informed by reason. IQ2’s debates — nerd fests but in the best possible way — aim to be a bastion for opposite. While held live in New York City, these aren’t simply propping up liberal ideals (a debate over the failure of Obama’s foreign policy gave the win to the side affirming that, yes, it has been), and I learn something from the smart, expert debaters every time. The best part is the skilled moderation by John Donvan. If only we had more moderators like him.

Reply All Nearly 90 percent of the US population uses the internet, so it’s refreshing to have media acknowledge the Internet as a driving cultural force without treating it like some bizarre niche for weirdos. Reply All’s hosts, For example, are clearly plugged into “internet culture,” but as part of the show’s occasional Yes Yes No segments, they go about explaining, digging into and demystifying internet in-jokes. But the show isn’t “about the internet”. Rather, it treats the internet as a way to explore current events and culture. Don’t miss episode #56 about Zardulu and modern myth making.

99% Invisible You know about this show: the thought — the design — behind things we don’t think about: the iPhone unlocking sound, the I ❤ NY logo, the dumb names created for neighborhoods, and, of course, flags. The show has hit nearly 250 episodes, built a new podcast network and successfully collected a legion of fans because it skillfully tells stories of the built world without the use of visuals. If you want a quick introduction, consider the most recent episode of mini-stories.